Day Trip with Mike, Kress & the Chilluns!

Good morning!! Well, a few weeks ago (before Esther came) Mike and Kress and Mikie III and Carlos were all going to the beach for a relaxing little day trip, and they invited me to go along as a nanny!! I was super excited, of course. Simply thrilled. Being an Aunt next door is so much fun! I'm so blessed. :) They were very dear for letting me go along!

So, bright and early, we head out toward the Great Deep with a beach umbrella, our swimmies, floaties, strollers and coolers and other beach-y stuff, ready to jump into the clear, cool waves....Ah. Bliss. We're finally here...dig your toes into the cool sand...you can hear the waves come crashing up, clear and green, and then, sometimes, they are blue, or white...a sea gull flies right over our little camp-the air smells crisp and tangy, and the babies cry and laugh and nap and play in the water...you close your eyes, and you feel the sun shine down on you, urging you to go float on the waves, and taste the salty water, and plunge into it's deep, swaying rhythm...

The ocean. It is one of the most beautiful gifts God gave us, I believe. He is so kind and good!!Mike dear and his cast-net...

Kressy dear The sea gulls (or whatever those are, LOL) were so beautiful!! They didn't seem afraid of us, either-they came right beside us and would swoop down and eat our discarded pizza crusts! Critter (Mikie III) was in awe. :)
Isn't this a neat picture!!? I was so tickled! That's our pizza crust it's got there...I prayed the Lord would help me to get a picture of one when it would swoop down right near us, and He did! He is so sweet and thoughtful to us...

Husband and wife enjoying the waves together...aww, just precious.Mike and Critter made a sand castle, which Critter then felt the need to promptly sit upon. Haha!! Ham Child.
Little Shell (this beach was so nice!! There were tons of beautiful shells, nice waves, mostly elderly people reading in beach chairs, and tons of room!! The Lord really blessed our time."Look, Mike!!! There's another one!!"
LOL, Carlos is soo adorable!! Here he is, enjoying a snack of seaweed. :)
"Is not My word like fire?" declares the LORD, "and like a hammer which shatters a rock ? Jeremiah 23:29

He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. Psalm 40:2

Shadows and Sand
This ship that passed by was absolutely colossal-huge!!!
A surfer with no waves...Critter's crashed...These little birds were so beautiful...
Kress told me those little things you see on the rocks is the same stuff that would attach itself to the bottom of their boat when she was growing up in the ocean. I'm sure that was a real ordeal trying to scrap them all off...But they are kind of pretty, in a way, aren't they? :)OH, and, look, y'all!!! I saw dolphins!! Up close!! How cool is that!? There were, like, maybe 10 of them, all jumping in and out! It was really neat. And----Here's the highlight, well, fishie-like-highlight thing that happened that day-I was walking out to about my waist, and heard Kressy, back near the shore, shouting something to Mike, and they both were trying to tell me something, and were coming out to where I was-then, I turned back, and saw this thing swim off real quick-it was a shark!!!! A real, live one! Isn't that cool!!!? I was in the water with a shark!!! Kress said she saw it swimming all around me, but I was looking for shells and didn't see it-she went to go get Mike 'cause she knew if I discovered it on my own I would have freaked out, which I'm sure I would have-she was so sweet to do that. Anyway, very neat. They said it was too small to kill me, but could have taken a chomp or two if it had wanted too. Kress, (who knows all about sharks and things, having grown up in the Caribbean and lived on a boat) said it was chasing schools of fish. I'm so grateful that the Lord protected me, and let them tell me instead of me seeing it!! Anyway, that was exciting.
That afternoon, a huge, beautiful storm came up...it was so amazing to see lightening against a dark blue, grey sky...and watch the waves turn different colors...As He was going along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. And Jesus said to them, "Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men." Immediately they left their nets and followed Him.
Mark 1:16-18

And, I shall end with a man fishing on the rocks.

That evening, Mike took us all to Kressy's favorite, Olive Garden, and we enjoyed a huge, delicious meal before heading home, sure to dream of the salty waves and the great, deep ocean, and of sunshine and babies and dolphins and sharks and orange shells...Ah. It was truly a day to remember.

Thank You, Lord.

Esther and the weekend of her coming!

Hello, y'all!!
Haha, isn't this something!? We still can't get over that fact that we have a girl!! :D God is soo good. She is doing great, and now weights 10 lb! We had the great joy of spending Mon. and Tues. at the Smithie home, cuddling babies, eating junk food, talking, watching movies, playing cards and putting pink bows on the mailbox for the first time, ;) and just enjoying sweet fellowship with all the dear folks up there. We bid farewell Tues. noon, leaving a gloating Auntie Dee and Uncle John for the week as helpers...some chore... ;) (JK, they were very sweet about getting to stay.)
Our little darling's name is Katherine (spelling still not determined) Esther Smith-isn't that lovely? Named after her dear Mama, and consequently after her great-great and great grandmothers. I love family names! So special. She's called Esther...our little grandbaby is so loved and missed by her family down here...we can't wait to see her and all the family again!
We love you, honey.

Michael Jr. and Dee playing chess... *Studies have shown that waving cereal boxes can relieve stress in times of tension if held at proper angle.* ;)Marth, Bret, Esther and Me...Auntie 'Besshie' and 'ze baby!

The Yuch and Paul Man
The C.'s made this beautiful and delicious cake!! Thanks, y'all-everybody really enjoyed it!Mid-night card games...
And-history is made!! The adhering of the first pink ribbon!!! *hears crowd cheering madly*
Ta-da!!!
There it is! Cunning, uh?
And here she is!!!! Our beauty! Our Small One!!! Praise the Lord.... The essence of cuddly-fluffy-ness, plus pure sweet-ness mixed all up in one tiny little bundle of adorability!! It is-Esther. Ah.
And here another picture of the Cuteness...
And another!! And now her little toesies! Aren't they tiny? :)

Well, until later, folks! Thanks for rejoicing with us in the birth of another blessed grandchild!

Oh-little detail I need to mention-Earlier I said she had 17 little boys between her and the last girl, but, actually there are just 16-in the excitement of the moment, and because I'm so good at my "add ups and take aways" ;) LOL, I miscalculated all the little boys between them! Sorry 'bout that. :D

Anyway, goodnight, y'all! Lord willing I'll be back tomorrow with lots of news and going-ons around here!! So much going happening-the Lord is so faithful. So many things to write down and record...

Love in Jesus,

Pictures of the Darling and Weight

Here she is!!!! Isn't she stunning!?
Look at all that hair! Beautiful and black...
Papa and his Daughter's hands...
Mama, Papa and the Baby!
This is so fun!! Above is a pink frill!! :)

And....now-the weight:

9 lbs and 8 oz!!!!

and, Dorothy is our exact winner!! To the T! Congratulations, dear. :)

More later,

Aunt Adeline

It's a GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Praise God!!!!! Can you believe it!!!?? We have a grand daughter!!!! A girl!!!!! A pink one!!! And she's got tons of dark, dark hair, and is a fluffy and chunky!!!!!!!! The first girl born here in 16 years!!! With 17 little boys in between!!! My goodness!!! Haha!!! I can hardly believe it. God is soo good!!! Will post pictures and weight and name and all as soon as we find out!!!

God bless you all for praying and rejoicing with us!!! Katie is doing wonderful!

Love an ecstatic,

Aunt Adeline

Nana's Predictions

Nana's guess is-!!!

A 7.8 lb girl. :D

Go Nana!

More Updatelings

Hello, dears!!!
Well, contractions about 5 minutes apart, Katie's feeling great and in the kitchen with everybody laughing and talking!! What a doll. Oh, and her guess is a 9 1/2 lb boy! And, and Rach and Wes are here with Doughy Joey-they had a lovely trip up here, they said-beautiful rain storm on the interstate-she said it was so pretty. Ah, I love rain...Oh, and Rach says she thinks it will be a 9 lb boy.

Here's a picture of our dear about a week ago, looking lovely with little Spot!

It is lovely and misty here-Mama and Auntie and all the girls are in the kitchen making supper...spinach topped tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, all sorts of yummy things...There's something special about the way ground beef smells when it's cooking...I think it's because we ate allot when I was little, and it smells like childhood....oh, and onions, too. I love homey smells. God is so good to give us those special scents. One of the most precious scents in the world is the pillow soft head of a newborn baby...Ahh, I can't wait!!!!

Mama and Daddy dear are back from the store with the traditional celebration food-they are so sweet.

OHH!! Joy! GrandDaddy and Nana are here!!! Ah! I love and miss them so! I'm so glad they're here. Gotta run.

Love in Jesus,

Adeline

Hear Ye, Hear Ye-'Tis the Baby!!!!!!!

Guess what!!!!!!?? Our darling sister, Katie is in labor! We are so excited!!! We are all (well, most of us) up here at the dear Smithies, waiting with great anticipation for the arrival of our much loved, sixth little grandchild! Horray!!!! God is so good. Her contractions were 10 minutes apart, but are now irregular-the midwife is saying It will most likely get here around 3:00 am!! We appreciate your prayers for the dear little family-Katie and the small one, especially.

In the mean time, we are cooling our excited nerves with delightful guessing. Leave your guess, and if you win, you get to pick an item of your choice from our toy box!!!

Our guesses, and the guesses of recent guests at our house, and the blog-viewers who have guessed previously are as follows:

Michael Jr.: 8lb, 4 oz boy
Kress: 9 lb 2 oz boy
John: 7 1/2 lb boy
Dorothy: 9 lb 8 oz girl
Adeline: 8 lb, 2 oz girl
Martha: 9 lb 3 oz girl
Angela H.: 9 lb 3 oz boy
Mrs.V.:8 lb 5 ounce boy
Cleveland: 8lb 3oz boy
Mrs. C. 8 lb 8oz girl
Tiffany C: girl
Esther Z.: 8 lb 11 oz girl
Livvy P. : girl
Bb V.: 8 lb 11 oz boy
Rachel 'n Wes: Still in route to Smith's house, will ask when she and Wes arrive....

Will be back soon with more updates soon, Lord willing-Katie is doing wonderful, and it taking a much needed nap. Mama and Daddy have gone to the store and shall return with plunder!! :)

Love an excited,

Aunt Adeline

P.S. We were so excited to hear of this precious little boy born yesterday!! Congratulations, Jordon and Melissa!!!

Praise the Lord for all these precious babies!

The Bees Came!

Look, y'all!! Bees! They finally came in! Michael's two hives, and Andrew's one, I am happy to report, are comfortably settled into their new homes and are doing wonderful.

The two smokers, or whatever they're called. :) Smoke is such an interesting thing. Very pretty, in it's own way.Michael preparing part of the hive. Y'all will have to forgive my novice about all things bee-ish. :) Kressy dear and precious little Carlos looking on...

Critter, after his play time in the dirt of his choice. :) LOL, this child is soo cute!!Off to the bee subdivision...
The making of future honey, perhaps?
While I was taking the flower picture above, I saw Cleve Pushing Mikey in the Cozy Coupe-what darlings!! Mikey just loves that thing...All this bee-stuff went on around lunch time, so Wes stopped by after lunch, on his way to the hardware store to check out the going-ons...here he is examining the smokers...LOL! What a cute brother!! So, we started a good fire in one, and enjoyed pumping it up good and hard. Me and Wes enjoyed watching the smoke curl up in pretty little swirls.... :) Poor Andrew and Mike, LOL.Our two wonderful bee keepers.Clearing away the tall grass,
and getting the boxes ready...'Till the action starts, I amuse myself with taking pictures of beautiful, tiny field flowers...This one is allot smaller then your pinkie nail. (how many of you looked at your pinkie nail? :) I love how the Lord makes some of the most beautiful things the smallest, so you have to stop and get down on your knees to look at them.
Here's one of the hives that Michael has had for a few years. See that lone bee, the last one on the left? Andrew tells me that's one of the look out bees-isn't that neat? He's such a precious brother. Ah...Y'all, how fun it is to have 8 brothers!! Can you believe that!? 8!? What a blessing! And a great responsibility to try to influence the ones still in my sisterly sphere, :) in the right way...May the Lord help me, and all of us, as sisters, mothers and wives to use the influence He's given us for His glory and purposes.After all was ready, they dumped the bees into the boxes, and inserted the queen.
There were so many hundreds of bees flying and landing everywhere.
And, there they are, all settled in. We really looking forward to honey soon, Lord willing!
And, as a little tid-bit, here's our most recent whipped creme kitchen mishap. I think blenders know when we buy them. :D JK.And another tid-bit-
Here are some of Daddy's absolutely gorgeous peas!! They are delicious. Three cheers, dearest Father!!
That's all for now, folks!!

Until next time,